Céline Cholez

Innovation in the occupational health physician profession requires the development of a work collective to improve the efficiency of MSD prevention

Given the ageing population of occupational health physicians and the deteriorating situation of employee health, reforms targeting the multi-disciplinary nature of occupational health are currently being drawn up. These are of great concern to doctors in terms of the future of occupational health, notably with regard to changing medical practices. The objective of this study is to explore the actual practices of occupational health physicians within the framework of MSD prevention in France. By analysing the activity of occupational health physicians, we could gain a better understanding of the coordination between those involved in OHS with the ultimate goal being to improve prevention. Based on an analysis of peer activity, this method made it possible to push beyond pre-constructed discourse. According to activity theories, it is through others that the history and controversies of a profession can be grasped and skills developed. The results produced by these collective discussions on activity analysis contributed to establish a collective point of view about the important aspects of their profession that need defending and the variations in professional genre in relation to the current reforms, notably.

Economic circuits in Madagascar: “Agencing” the circulation of goods, accounts and money

Recent economic sociology literature has focused on the circulation of goods along discontinuous economic spaces as a widespread modality of value creation. This paper explores how these “in-between” spaces are open to stabilized chains of transactions that maintain resilience against disruptions and uncertainties. It argues that the day-to-day circulation of actors, goods, and money in and between markets leads to an “economic circuit.” We define an economic circuit as a socio-technical and spatialized chain, which organizes on a regular and continuous basis the circulation of goods and payments between “kinship” partnerships. Exchanges are circular, assembling heterogeneous media and transfers, and relying on financial arrangements as a crucial mode for ensuring transaction continuity. To develop this idea, the paper draws upon the case of the small-scale fishing trading networks in Madagascar. It aims to explore the mundane arrangements and the “socio-technical agencements” operating across the whole chain of goods circulation.

Various Corporate Citizenships in BoP Markets

‘Access to energy is a major preoccupation for the 1.6 billion people who at present live without electricity. […] By setting out its solutions for access to renewable energies, Schneider Electric is reaffirming its social commitment to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for populations ‘at the bottom of the pyramid’ and to facilitate access to care, treatment and education (Press release: ‘Electrification of the village of Marovato in Madagascar’, June 2009). Providing clean and responsible energy solutions for populations in situations of extreme poverty, such is the radically new challenge, listed as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, taken up by a team of engineers from Schneider Electric, a global energy company specializing in industrial electrical equipment. Like other multinationals, Schneider Electric has become involved in the design of products affordable to the poorest populations of emerging countries.